I seem to be busier than ever! Mainly with weaving. I have:

Homework for the weaving certificate course.
Preparation for the rigid heddle workshop I’m running at the guild’s Summer School.
Preparation for the rug weaving workshop I’m attending at the guild’s Summer School.
Tea towels to weave for Mum’s Christmas present.

It’s a bit like having a part time job and going to University. Only a bit, though. I don’t think I’d have the energy for full university study right now.

I had to draw up a schedule to reassure myself I could do everything. It all seems doable, thankfully. The hardest part is anything that requires using the computer, which is why I’m not blogging as much as I used to. Writing up notes for the weaving certificate course is manageable, but creating info sheets for the rigid heddle workshop is very computer intensive. Photos must be cropped and adjusted, then added to Word documents and instructions typed up. It’s the most time-consuming part of the process.

I’m kinda surprised at how much I’m enjoying all this. Not that I’m enjoying it, but the degree to which I am. It’s had me consider how much I wasn’t enjoying writing for publication in recent years, and if this change/break was long overdue. And that has me wary about a possible future problem. My work life has been a series of turning hobbies into work, which I always intended to do with writing, not so much with art but I went into illustration with enthusiasm. Is there a danger I’ll ‘spoil’ weaving by making it work, even if I’m not teaching it for money but to spread the knowledge?

The risk is definitely there, but it’s one worth taking, I think. And I remind myself that I did regain an enjoyment of art when I stopped working as an illustrator, mainly by switching to a new medium unsuited to illustration work (oils, as they take too long to dry). I might even rediscover my love of writing after a long enough break from it.